“Say your prayers and eat your vitamins” ahead of Saturday’s game in Columbus.

If a few of the club’s walking wounded don’t mend, it could be a blood bath on the weekend.

Heck, it might well be regardless.

Here’s what we know: Jermain Defoe (hamstring) won’t be eligible for selection against the only perfect (3-0-0) team left in MLS. Pivotal attacking midfielder Jonathan Osorio is questionable with a slight knock, as is starting centre back Doneil Henry.

Furthermore, word arrived Wednesday that captain Steven Caldwell has been issued a one-game ban by Major League Soccer’s disciplinary committee, stemming from a tackle on Salt Lake’s Ned Grabavoy last week.

That’s right, TFC fans, say your prayers that U.S. international Michael Bradley returns to Toronto in one piece following a friendly Wednesday night against Mexico in Phoenix, Ariz.

Without him, the most in-form player in MLS -- Federico Higuain -- will run wild through TFC’s reserves.

With head coach Ryan Nelsen missing 2-3 key members of his club’s spine, the Reds might well get run over when you consider the 3-0 shellacking they suffered last Saturday -- with Defoe and Caldwell.

“There could be a few guys unavailable,” Nelsen told reporters Wednesday. “I’ve said to you all along that this is made up of depth players. You can get really excited about Designated Players – as you should – but down the stretch, it’s a tough season. It’s about the guys who can throw out (good performances) consistently ... They’re the most valuable players.”

We’ll see how many MVPs the Reds have this weekend.

With Jackson returning from suspension, Nelsen could use the Brazilian or Dwayne De Rosario alongside Gilberto up front.

And, if Osorio can’t go, Kyle Bekker or Jeremy Hall could get another look next to Bradley in midfield.

Then there’s the back four. While it’s hard to see Henry missing this match with a bruised knee, Caldwell will need to be replaced, meaning any number of combinations are possible in defence.

“I don’t know why the league needs to get involved to tell you the truth,” Nelsen said of Caldwell’s suspension. “You start to undermine your referees if you do this. Once you start undermining your referees and overturning decisions they’ve made then it starts becoming slippery slope.”

What Nelsen conceded Wednesday was what we predicted before the start of the season: The Reds are solid when healthy, but well-below average when a few pieces are removed.

The same can’t be said for some of the league’s top clubs – Kansas City, Salt Lake, Portland.

It’s where Nelsen says TFC will eventually be.

“Toronto hasn’t had those type of guys,” Nelsen said of having consistent role players. “We’re trying to develop those guys. We’ll get very good when we have a number of those guys.”

That means time is running out on a few TFC mainstays, who need to look at Saturday as a chance to prove their worth in the absence of some of the club’s top players.

If Nelsen can’t rely on his current depth, that depth will be replaced – this season or next.

Only then will TFC have the ability to go on the road without a few pieces – no matter how important – and grind out a result.

At the moment, Saturday already feels like a loss to most.

#TBT: THE ARON WINTER YEARS

We do our best to bring you snippets from inside MLS locker rooms.

So, when given the opportunity, we run with it.

Like at last year’s MLS Cup in Kansas City, where a former player told be about a dressing room dust-up between Alan Gordon and a TFC staffer that led to the target man’s trade to San Jose shortly thereafter.

Ahead of TFC’s 3-0 loss at RSL last weekend, a former TFC player told the Sun about a mind-blowing exchange he had with then head coach Aron Winter back in 2012.

At that point, the one-time player explained, Winter had nearly lost the entire dressing room and staff.

This doozy, however, was the final “nail in Aron’s coffin,” he said.

To set the scene, the Reds were 0-9-0, one of the worst starts in MLS history.

“Danny Koevermans was just coming back from injury,” the former TFCer added. “He ended up scoring the game-winning goal.”

Losing streak over!

But guess who dampened the mood?

“We had a reserve game after,” he explained. “We won the game, everyone was happy. All of a sudden I start hearing yelling and such.

“Aron had come in to congratulate the team and then list the reserve game lineup. Danny was playing in the reserve game.”

A big no-no for most million-dollar Designated Players around the league, who prefer to do their rehab away from the league’s bench-warmers.

“They were going back and forth and back and forth,” he said. “Danny wasn’t happy and that dustup was pretty much the last thing that happened with Aron.

“Danny tried to explain he was coming back from injury and he yelled in English, ‘I just saved your job!’”

Centre back suspended for one game

“Say your prayers and eat your vitamins” ahead of Saturday’s game in Columbus.

If a few of the club’s walking wounded don’t mend, it could be a blood bath on the weekend.

Heck, it might well be regardless.

Here’s what we know: Jermain Defoe (hamstring) won’t be eligible for selection against the only perfect (3-0-0) team left in MLS. Pivotal attacking midfielder Jonathan Osorio is questionable with a slight knock, as is starting centre back Doneil Henry.

Furthermore, word arrived Wednesday that captain Steven Caldwell has been issued a one-game ban by Major League Soccer’s disciplinary committee, stemming from a tackle on Salt Lake’s Ned Grabavoy last week.

That’s right, TFC fans, say your prayers that U.S. international Michael Bradley returns to Toronto in one piece following a friendly Wednesday night against Mexico in Phoenix, Ariz.